Critical Analysis: AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) vs. Minco Capital (OTCMKTS:MGHCF)

Minco Capital (OTCMKTS:MGHCF) and AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Minco Capital and AngloGold Ashanti, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Minco Capital	0	0	0	0	0.00
AngloGold Ashanti	2	1	4	0	2.29

AngloGold Ashanti has a consensus target price of $49.60, indicating a potential downside of 27.35%. Given AngloGold Ashanti’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe AngloGold Ashanti is more favorable than Minco Capital.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

36.1% of AngloGold Ashanti shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Minco Capital and AngloGold Ashanti’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Minco Capital	N/A	10.65%	10.32%
AngloGold Ashanti	23.60%	22.54%	13.96%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Minco Capital and AngloGold Ashanti”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Minco Capital	N/A	N/A	-$290,000.00	$0.01	4.29
AngloGold Ashanti	$7.65 billion	3.75	$1.00 billion	$3.76	18.16

AngloGold Ashanti has higher revenue and earnings than Minco Capital. Minco Capital is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than AngloGold Ashanti, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Minco Capital has a beta of 0.21, indicating that its stock price is 79% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AngloGold Ashanti has a beta of 0.54, indicating that its stock price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

AngloGold Ashanti beats Minco Capital on 12 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Minco Capital

Minco Capital Corp., an investment company, focuses on investing in public and private companies and assets to generate income and achieve long-term capital appreciation. The company was formerly known as Minco Gold Corporation and changed its name to Minco Capital Corp. in February 2019. Minco Capital Corp. was incorporated in 1982 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

About AngloGold Ashanti

AngloGold Ashanti plc operates as a gold mining company in Africa, Australia, and the Americas. The company primarily explores for gold, as well as produces silver and sulphuric acid as by-products. Its flagship property is a 100% owned Geita mine located in the Lake Victoria goldfields of the Mwanza region in north-western Tanzania. AngloGold Ashanti plc was incorporated in 1944 and is headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado.